The principle "No Man Is An Island." applies not only to life but to video production. Video projects are a collaborative effort, requiring teams of people working to bring their expertise to the table. No matter what stage of the editing process you are currently in, concise and useful feedback will allow these teams to work together in the most efficient way possible - which translates into staying on schedule and in budget.
Hopefully, your production team is working off of an approved creative brief, storyboard, and production timeline. These documents will be your guiding light when providing feedback, assuming that the initial vision of the video hasn't drastically changed.
… concise and useful feedback will allow these teams to work together in the most efficient way possible.
Before providing any feedback, watch the cut a couple of times. Try and view it from the eyes of your intended audience - does the content help achieve the goals you've prescribed? From there, it can be helpful to apply the S.M.A.R.T. Criteria to all feedback given to your production team:
Specific
Measurable
Actionable
Results-oriented
Timely
Provide specific feedback on what you'd like to change and the time-code of where it needs to happen. Various online review tools make this kind of feedback easy, such as Frame.io, Dropbox, HighTail, and others. Many platforms allow for markups in addition to comments - a great way to precisely show what you're referencing.
Make sure that any qualitative changes are measurable and actionable. For example, avoid ambiguous statements such as, "I'd like to have this element more blue." Instead, say, "I'd like to have this element match this color (insert picture, link, or color code here).". Provide reasoning behind the changes - "The copy here makes it seem ____." If there are audio issues, call out exactly what the problems are: "I'm having issues hearing the speaker here." or "The music bed isn't hitting the mark. Can we find something that sounds like this? (Provide a link in addition to your comment).
The review process is the perfect time to check that your video is on track to obtain the results you've envisioned. Refer back to the creative brief, storyboard, and production notes for guidance. Call out any critical errors you see: mislabeled call-outs, grammar, odd cuts, audio issues, and the like. Your video editor is (presumably) human and will fall prey to general lapses and mistakes.
Now is not the time to mince words - be succinct and severe - your production team will thank you. If a group of stakeholders will sign off on the final edit, select one to be the final decision-maker. If that's not possible and an impasse occurs, your production team should be able to meditate, explain the rationale behind what they've shown, and help all come to an agreed-upon direction).
Make sure that all feedback happens in a timely manner. Adhere to the production timeline as much as possible. A seemingly simple change can quickly become a full creative team effort, with updated animations, audio tracks, and video assets. Your production partner will advise you on expected revision turnaround times.
Finally, keep an open mind throughout the process. Your production team may respond to edits with budgetary, logistical, or timeline concerns - weigh them thoroughly, and make objective decisions. If everyone keeps the big picture in mind and works together, you will create something amazing!
Stay tuned for our next installment of SK Backstage!